Hackintosh 10.5.5 Retail Rig - Starting at $305

[j5on]

I know you said 24" but im thinking about going 22" with this asus @ $169
(I have heard that Sony actually builds this one for Asus)
http://www.newegg.com/product/...003&CMP=AFC-C8Junction

I saw a soyo 22" for $155 shipped yesterday on woot
(ppl scared me off talking about dead pixels)

And here is another alternative..(hanns-g $169)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16824254035

I should be able to have the hackntosh + monitor for around $500

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: KeypoX
nice i have been waiting for this boot 123 guide... didnt want to figure it out on my own lol. But unfortunately i still have a 4850 and it still doesnt work...

do you know if i followed your guide install leopard on a different harddrive than current with vista. And put in vista disk to repair installation would it repair the vista boot? Then i could chain0 in vista to add osx to the vista boot loader. I have only dual booted using 1 harddrive. Both on laptop and desktop. But i just got a fresh 1TB samsung, with new vista install and was gonna give the old 320GB to osx.

Rumor has it Apple will be adding 48xx support in the future, possibly in January with the new Mac Pros. Try to find a cheap card, like a 7300GT - I got mine for like $16 AR a month or two ago (they're phased out now), but I'm sure you can find one cheap used.

Let me see if I can clarify what you're asking: you want to boot Vista on the 1TB drive and OS X on the 320gb drive? If that is what you're asking, Gigabyte has a built-in bootloader, don't remember the key off the top of my head but it's one of the F keys (F10?) - it lets you select which drive to boot from. So have the USB stick be the default, then if you want to boot to Vista just press the boot select key during BIOS.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: j5on
I know you said 24" but im thinking about going 22" with this asus @ $169
(I have heard that Sony actually builds this one for Asus)
http://www.newegg.com/product/...003&CMP=AFC-C8Junction

I saw a soyo 22" for $155 shipped yesterday on woot
(ppl scared me off talking about dead pixels)

And here is another alternative..(hanns-g $169)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16824254035

I should be able to have the hackntosh + monitor for around $500

FYI j5on is a good friend of mine, not a spammer (despite 1 post + default avatar) lol.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: randomlinh
kaido, you're not helping me, haha... the better budget box, but w/ a q6600 is what I want to build. I'm just unfortunately stuck w/ the fact a decent 24" LCD will basically double the cost =(

Q6600 is still the chip to get IMO. People whine about it not being 45nm, but who cares...it overclocks well, just slap a big CPU cooler and some Arctic Silver 5 paste on it. I get great temps on mine, even overclocked. You can pay more for a newer 45nm chip, but you can do better for cheaper if you're willing to roll the dice and OC

Think of it this way: the cost of your Hackintosh with a quality 24" LCD will STILL be cheaper than even a basic $2300 Mac Pro

 

[Psycho Donut Killer]

Can anyone confirm dual monitor support working with the GIGABYTE GV-NX86T256H GeForce 8600 GT graphics card? I am going to build an Atom to temporarily replace my Mac mini, sell the Mac mini, and build a HTPC hackintosh. I will use my old 7300GT for the HTPC and put the 8600GT in my main rig. I built my rig over the weekend, my wife got the first one, and I did the the old way, and I will leave those as is unless my old install doesn't like the new video card. After getting these two systems built for $700 each (quad 3 Ghz, 4 GB RAM, 2x750 GB 32MB HDs) I retired my top of the line Mac mini Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz to be the HTPC, but I should sell it while I can for $650 or $700 and just build another hackintosh.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: randomlinh
kaido, you're not helping me, haha... the better budget box, but w/ a q6600 is what I want to build. I'm just unfortunately stuck w/ the fact a decent 24" LCD will basically double the cost =(

Q6600 is still the chip to get IMO. People whine about it not being 45nm, but who cares...it overclocks well, just slap a big CPU cooler and some Arctic Silver 5 paste on it. I get great temps on mine, even overclocked. You can pay more for a newer 45nm chip, but you can do better for cheaper if you're willing to roll the dice and OC

Think of it this way: the cost of your Hackintosh with a quality 24" LCD will STILL be cheaper than even a basic $2300 Mac Pro

I know you guys keeping talking about 24" LCDs with S-IPS panels, where are you guys finding them though? Because, i thought it was universally accepted that the Dell 24" UltraSharps (do they still call them that?) were the best, followed closely by Gateway FHD2400 (at least according to the Anandtech review) and then Apple and then Samsung 24".

Is this not correct? What are the best 24" LCDs? What if I, as a colorblind non-photographer, only wanted a good 24" not a great one, what would you recommend (for the record, I had the FHD2400 and thought it was gorgeous, but it had a stuck pixel (green... or maybe blue... did I mention that I was colorblind?) in the bottom half of the screen, so it had to go back.

 

[Stiganator]

..

 

[silverpig]

FYI: SVIDEO works if you use one of the ATI cards that apple uses in the Mac Pro (X19xx series I believe).

 

[Psycho Donut Killer]

Q6600 is the chip to get, for sure. I have two running at 3.0 GHz on the stock cooler with lower temps than my Mac mini.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: TheStu

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: randomlinh
kaido, you're not helping me, haha... the better budget box, but w/ a q6600 is what I want to build. I'm just unfortunately stuck w/ the fact a decent 24" LCD will basically double the cost =(

Q6600 is still the chip to get IMO. People whine about it not being 45nm, but who cares...it overclocks well, just slap a big CPU cooler and some Arctic Silver 5 paste on it. I get great temps on mine, even overclocked. You can pay more for a newer 45nm chip, but you can do better for cheaper if you're willing to roll the dice and OC

Think of it this way: the cost of your Hackintosh with a quality 24" LCD will STILL be cheaper than even a basic $2300 Mac Pro

I know you guys keeping talking about 24" LCDs with S-IPS panels, where are you guys finding them though? Because, i thought it was universally accepted that the Dell 24" UltraSharps (do they still call them that?) were the best, followed closely by Gateway FHD2400 (at least according to the Anandtech review) and then Apple and then Samsung 24".

Is this not correct? What are the best 24" LCDs? What if I, as a colorblind non-photographer, only wanted a good 24" not a great one, what would you recommend (for the record, I had the FHD2400 and thought it was gorgeous, but it had a stuck pixel (green... or maybe blue... did I mention that I was colorblind?) in the bottom half of the screen, so it had to go back.

I wouldn't overclock, so it doesn't matter, heh.

The Dell's aren't the best, but they are very very good for the price. They are SPVA panels I think. HP has an H-IPS i think it is for $650. Check the video thread, there is a nice long list of monitors and what panels.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Psycho Donut Killer
Can anyone confirm dual monitor support working with the GIGABYTE GV-NX86T256H GeForce 8600 GT graphics card? I am going to build an Atom to temporarily replace my Mac mini, sell the Mac mini, and build a HTPC hackintosh. I will use my old 7300GT for the HTPC and put the 8600GT in my main rig. I built my rig over the weekend, my wife got the first one, and I did the the old way, and I will leave those as is unless my old install doesn't like the new video card. After getting these two systems built for $700 each (quad 3 Ghz, 4 GB RAM, 2x750 GB 32MB HDs) I retired my top of the line Mac mini Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz to be the HTPC, but I should sell it while I can for $650 or $700 and just build another hackintosh.

Every single card I've used with dual ports (DVI/DVI and DVI/VGA) has worked. No reason why your 8800 GT wouldn't. The 8800 GT 256MB, 512MB, and 768MB cards are supported by default with my installation package:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/7618558/Video-Cards

The Atom makes a nice little system and is Hackintosh compatible, but the onboard graphics do have tearing (not 100% good driver). That's my only complaint. And no way to add them since I don't know of any PCI video cards that are Hackintosh-compatible.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: TheStu
I know you guys keeping talking about 24" LCDs with S-IPS panels, where are you guys finding them though? Because, i thought it was universally accepted that the Dell 24" UltraSharps (do they still call them that?) were the best, followed closely by Gateway FHD2400 (at least according to the Anandtech review) and then Apple and then Samsung 24".

Is this not correct? What are the best 24" LCDs? What if I, as a colorblind non-photographer, only wanted a good 24" not a great one, what would you recommend (for the record, I had the FHD2400 and thought it was gorgeous, but it had a stuck pixel (green... or maybe blue... did I mention that I was colorblind?) in the bottom half of the screen, so it had to go back.

The Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP is $619 and is pretty awesome:

http://accessories.us.dell.com...bsd&cs=04&sku=320-6272

I have the older version, it's really great. There are usually coupons floating around; I'd advise waiting a few weeks for Black Friday though for a big-ticket item like this, they usually have some slammin' deals for goodies like LCD monitors around then

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Stiganator
F12 will select the boot menu on most any current system from Dell, HP, or gigabyte, asus, msi, boards

Ah, there we go. Yeah, it's cake - just select the hard drive (or USB stick) you want, viola it boots up. No need to install a special bootloader or management system.

I'll be adding a multi-booting section soon.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Psycho Donut Killer
Q6600 is the chip to get, for sure. I have two running at 3.0 GHz on the stock cooler with lower temps than my Mac mini.

Same, got a pair of them here running just great - even on cheap RAM

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: randomlinh
I wouldn't overclock, so it doesn't matter, heh.

The Dell's aren't the best, but they are very very good for the price. They are SPVA panels I think. HP has an H-IPS i think it is for $650. Check the video thread, there is a nice long list of monitors and what panels.

Yeah, if you want the best quality you need something like an Eizo 24" that costs upwards of $1300. And a colorimeter to go with it. And probably one that works with your scanner and printer too, if you care about color that much. A high-quality Dell panel plus a colorimeter like the Gretag Eye-One Display 2 is a great combination.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: silverpig
FYI: SVIDEO works if you use one of the ATI cards that apple uses in the Mac Pro (X19xx series I believe).

Really? Where did you read this? I am very interested in this...

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: silverpig
FYI: SVIDEO works if you use one of the ATI cards that apple uses in the Mac Pro (X19xx series I believe).

Really? Where did you read this? I am very interested in this...

The insanelymac forum. I'll dig up the threads...

Here's one where he says his ati card works with svideo

nVidia cards largely do not work. There are a few people who have reported very limited success (SVIDEO works booting up but then cuts out, or some random kexts work but break other things...).

My 7900GS works perfectly with the exception of SVIDEO. Both DVI ports work, dual monitor works, but SVIDEO gets me nothing. Furthermore, DVI to SVIDEO does not work. DVI to VGA works however.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: silverpig

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: silverpig
FYI: SVIDEO works if you use one of the ATI cards that apple uses in the Mac Pro (X19xx series I believe).

Really? Where did you read this? I am very interested in this...

The insanelymac forum. I'll dig up the threads...

Here's one where he says his ati card works with svideo

nVidia cards largely do not work. There are a few people who have reported very limited success (SVIDEO works booting up but then cuts out, or some random kexts work but break other things...).

My 7900GS works perfectly with the exception of SVIDEO. Both DVI ports work, dual monitor works, but SVIDEO gets me nothing. Furthermore, DVI to SVIDEO does not work. DVI to VGA works however.

Dude :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Thanks!!

Looks like it's compatible with the HD 2600XT as well (gotta find out if the 2600XT is supported under Hackintosh!), according to Apple:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2809?viewlocale=en_US

The X1900XT is a little bit hard to find, but I can snag an HD 2600XT new for around $70 on Newegg. That plus the $20 video adapter...I think it's time to replace my XBMC on the old tube TV It looks like only the X1900XT and HD 2600XT work, and only on the second DVI port due to some built-in switch on that port. I'd be very interested to see what other cards are compatible; this is VERY good news for those of us who want to hook up older television with Composite or S-video - great for watching movies, Final Cut Pro video previews, etc. Good find!

 

[richiem]

Kaido -- couldn't get the download of your boot132 file to work -- all in German, no English on site that I could find; it said (near as i could figure) I'd exceeded the download limit with a bunch of other stuff I couldn't read. Is there another link besides MegaUpload, or is there a way to get them to give it to me?

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: richiem
Kaido -- couldn't get the download of your boot132 file to work -- all in German, no English on site that I could find; it said (near as i could figure) I'd exceeded the download limit with a bunch of other stuff I couldn't read. Is there another link besides MegaUpload, or is there a way to get them to give it to me?

It looks like all these freebie uploading sites are putting caps on. This RapidShare link is only good for 10 downloads:

http://rapidshare.com/files/158910126/BOOT132.zip.html

Anyone know of a better host?

 

[richiem]

OK, that worked fine, and gave it to me as fast as my satellite link will go. Big thx.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: richiem
OK, that worked fine, and gave it to me as fast as my satellite link will go. Big thx.

Enjoy! Post your results + hardware specs when you're done

 

[Kmax82]

I'm not too familiar with IR receivers. Does OS X just work with them or does it have to have drivers?

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Kmax82
I'm not too familiar with IR receivers. Does OS X just work with them or does it have to have drivers?

It depends, you'll have to research it (google the one you're looking at). My recommend is to get the Mantra USB IR Receiver along with their Mira configuration software:

http://twistedmelon.com/mira/hardware.html

Cost is $31.99 for the pair (hardware + software). Includes a 6' USB cable so you can position the receiver wherever you'd like. They just added Plex support to Mira as well. You can use an Apple Remote, or alternatively any programmable universal remote like a Logitech Harmony.

 

[Kmax82]

Yea.. I saw that recommendation, and that will be what I'm going with. I was only asking because I thought that I could find a little cheaper alternative, but it looks like most of the other IR receivers are around that same price point.

Thanks.